Catholic Hospital: Fetus not legally a person

DENVER -- Colorado's Catholic bishops will review a church hospital's legal argument that it should not be liable for the death of unborn twins because a fetus is not a person under state law.

The arguments were made in papers Englewood-based Catholic Health Initiatives filed in 2010 to persuade a judge to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit against St. Thomas More Hospital in Canon City. They appeared to contradict the church's centuries-old stance that life begins at conception.

In a statement Thursday evening, the bishops said they would review the litigation to ensure it complied with church doctrine.

The lawsuit was filed after Lori Stodghill and the 7-month-old fetuses she was carrying died in the hospital's emergency room. Attorneys for her husband are urging the Colorado Supreme Court to take the case.